Allison’s review:

This review reportedly contains spoilers.

Hi, my name is Allison, and I'm a Richard Curtis fan. With that being said, I was a bit disappointed in this film. Great cast, fabulous music, seemingly interesting premise, yet it somehow misses the mark. I found the lack of character development particularly frustrating. The discovery of Carl's father (Tom Sturridge), Bob (Ralph Brown), felt rushed and beside the point. Although Curtis tries to make Carl the protagonist of the film, the ensemble cast overshadows Sturridge. With trained Shakespearean actors such as Kenneth Branagh and Bill Nighy, and equally strong performances by Nick Frost, Chris O'Dowd, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, any attempt at a cohesive personal story is lost. An additional tragedy is the misuse, or rather disuse, of Katherine Parkinson. Great concept, poor execution. If you have time to kill and are in the mood for a warmhearted flick, give it a watch.

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